Letters to the editor, March 11, 2013

Hi from Stephen Michna, a commissioner of the city's Economic Development Commission.

The EDC has been busy planning a business visitation survey program over the past 6 months. Commission members came up with a few questions that we'd like to ask local business owners; like why did you decide on Torrington, what keeps you in Torrington, and what are the weaknesses and strengths of Torrington in the business world?

We hope answers to these questions will help us better plan for the economic growth of our city. Hard data doesn't hurt, and it will help us make good decisions.

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If you are interested in sharing your opinion on these questions or participating out more about this survey, contact me at stephen.michna@gmail.com or stop by any of our EDC meetings. They are on the first Tuesday of every month in the City Council Chambers at 5pm.

-- Stephen Michna, Economic Development Commission, Torrington

Accuses Mustich of ignoring facts

I am often amazed at the ability of those who hate Israel as Joseph Mustich clearly must based on both his past and latest submission featured in this newspaper to totally ignore any inconvenient facts which demonstrate the error of their positions.

While Mustich seems to have much compassion over the death of activist Rachel Corrie, who, it seems, deliberately put herself in harm's way, it appears his well of sympathy runs dry concerning the deaths and injuries inflicted upon unsuspecting Israeli civilians by Palestinian terrorists and their spiritual kindred over the six decades of Israel's existence.

I guess in his view when innocent Jews die in this manner, it is not even worthy of mention.

I am often appalled, but rarely surprised, to find this to be a common element in those who have, for some inexplicable reason, sided with a culture which clearly encourages such cowardly and cold-blooded attacks.

The truth of the matter is that the only peace the Palestinians and their supporters will accept is the total elimination of Israel - by any means necessary.

If they did one day accomplish that horrible goal, the evidence of 9/11 and continuing terrorist attacks across the world strongly suggest that United States and any nation which prizes freedom would provide the next prime focal points for their aggression.

-- Edward Wood, Killingworth

Mistakes on Israel

Joseph Mustich's conflation of Rachel Corrie with Anne Frank in his letter of March 5th egregiously amounts to murdering the Holocaust's most famous victim twice.

Far from "trying to help the Christian, Muslim, and secular inhabitants live in peace with their Israeli Jewish neighbors," as stated by Mustich, Ms. Corrie, a member of the International Solidarity Movement - a group opposed to the existence of the State of Israel and all measures of self-defense on the part of the Jewish state - met her regrettable and accidental death trying to protect structures that were fronts for tunnels along the border between Egypt and Gaza through which munitions and explosives intended to kill innocent Israelis were being smuggled.

Rachel Corrie's "peace" overtures lead to the deaths of numerous namesakes whose crimes were merely that they were Jewish: Rachel Ben Abu, Rachel Thaler, Rachel Levy, Rachel Levi, Rachel Charhi, Rachel Shabo, Rachel Gavish and Rachel Kol. Unfortunately, these Rachels have no academics or playwrights to bang the drum of their memories into the world's conscience.

That Mr. Mustich commented on Rachel Corrie at a reading of Howard Zinn's Voices of a People's History of the United States, is emblematic of Mustich's bias.